Tigress delivers four cubs in Pench Reserve

Bhopal: Certainly a development to rejoice as a tigress in Pench Tiger reserve has given birth to four cubs.

Pench Tiger Reserve has over 50 adult tigers

A senior forest officials told indileak that it was the seventh litter of the tigress which is popularly known as “Collarwali” as it was a radio collared by authorities to monitor its movement in the reserve. “Till now, this tigress has given birth to 26 cubs in its seven litters and this is a record for a tigress in the wild of the state,” pointed out the official.

He said that a week back, the four cubs with the tigress were spotted by the forest guards on their routine patrol.

The Collorwali tigress in question is also called as ‘Queen of Pench’ and by some as ‘Pench princess’.

The forest official said that this tigress had given birth to 18 cubs between 2008 and 2013 and out of that 14 survived.

“Four cubs in a litter is rarity but but owing to genetics or chromosome configuration some tigress have more than two cubs and is normal but rare, ” said an expert.

He said that if prey is plentiful in the area where this type of phenomenon is observed, chances of survival of all the cubs born in the litter are very high.

It may be mentioned here that Pench Tiger Reserve has over 50 adult tigers.